Homeowners in a Southeast Portland neighborhood have banded together to buy and install solar panels, knocking significant chunks off the price through high-volume purchasing. The 6-month-old Solarize Portland program has wildly exceeded expectations.

The downtown core of coastal Tillamook is mostly a drive-through experience. It sits hard on the highway and most of the tourist traffic heads straight for the coast or turns north, away from downtown, to visit the popular Tillamook cheese factory.